Ignoring Virgin Gorda, Anegada Is Mistake
Minister Vincent O. Wheatley warned during House of Assembly debate on the Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency Amendment Bill 2026 that development must explicitly include the Ninth District — Virgin Gorda and Anegada — or the territory risks a hollow recovery. Premier Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley echoed the call for a whole-VI approach and acknowledged the urgent infrastructural challenges that must be addressed expeditiously.
Wheatley has warned that sidelining Virgin Gorda and Anegada in recovery and development plans would be "the biggest mistake" the British Virgin Islands could make. Delivering his contribution to the debate on the Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency Amendment Bill 2026 during the Fifth Sitting of the Third Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on July 28, 2026, Hon Wheatley reiterated a position he first raised in 2019 during the territory’s post‑Hurricane Irma and Maria recovery. "There would be no true recovery in the VI unless there was recovery in the Ninth District," he said, adding, "I’m going to repeat that clarion call today, that there’d be no true development in the British Virgin Islands unless we have true development in the Ninth District." Hon Wheatley urged that development strategies be focused specifically on Virgin Gorda and Anegada, warning that expenditure concentrated solely on Tortola — "You can spend all the millions you want in West End and this and that" — would leave the territory unbalanced if the Ninth District is ignored.
Wheatley (R7) responded to the minister’s remarks, saying the concern for the Sister Islands is important and that development should be "a whole Virgin Islands approach, not just a Tortola-centric approach." The Premier acknowledged the existence of major infrastructural challenges across the territory and emphasised that any sitting government has a responsibility to address them "in an expeditious way." The exchange comes amid debate on amendments to the agency responsible for overseeing recovery and development efforts, at a time when residents across the territory continue to raise issues about transport links, harbour and road repairs, utilities and other infrastructure that affect daily life and economic activity in the Sister Islands.
For Anegada and Virgin Gorda — which experienced significant disruption following the 2017 storms and face long-standing infrastructure and service challenges — the ministers’ comments underscore a renewed call for targeted, measurable investment and policies that deliver resilience and opportunity across the entire territory.
As the House considers amendments to the recovery agency’s mandate and operations, both ministers stressed the need for inclusive planning and prompt action so that development benefits are felt equally by residents of the Ninth District and the wider British Virgin Islands.
Primary source: VINO